


liber portentorum

by Dan_Francisco



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Epistolary, Gen, Horror, Mystery, promptfill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22469761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dan_Francisco/pseuds/Dan_Francisco
Summary: In 1893, a case of mass hysteria overwhelmed a village in the Scottish Highlands. The reasons behind this case are unknown to history, with the only remaining historical documents contained within these excerpts of scattered notes and torn diary pages. Since their discovery in 1992, scholars have pored over them, attempting to understand what is fact, and what is fiction.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11
Collections: /r/FanFiction Prompt Challenge #16 / January 2020





	liber portentorum

**Author's Note:**

> Promptfill for r/fanfiction's monthly prompt! I chose Mystery and Epistolary, with the random words glimpse and career also added on.

_From the notes of Dr. Moira O’Deorain on the Pech_

The Pech are very small, gnome-like creatures. They appear similar to _Gartenzwerge_ that are common to the area of Thuringia, but they should not be taken lightly. These diminutive creatures are impossibly strong, and it is said they brew alcohol and have fought the Scots for centuries. Local tales claim these curious little creatures built the stone megaliths in Scotland with the aid of giants. I believe I can easily dismiss claims of giants. Disregarding the Pech is harder, especially when I see them peeking out from the forests at night.

* * *

_Gabriel Reyes’s diary_

October 17th, 1893

The Doctor gave us this book as a means to prepare ourselves. She has ordered us to clear a village far in the Scottish highlands and purge it of evil, so she claims. I remain skeptical of this mission. If it were not for the absurd nature, my unease would be heightened just by the man sitting across from me. He is a Unionist – I know because he took one look at my gray coat and drew his pistol immediately. He apparently does not recall that the war has since ended thirty years ago. Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately – our benefactor the Doctor informed us that we would not receive our payment should we happen to slaughter one another on our way. As of this writing, I am on a train to Scotland, reading this so-called Book of Monsters in order to gain a glimpse of our foes.

My companion does not seem interested in this book. Perhaps he does not know how to read. It would not surprise me, coming from a man with hatred so ingrained into him he fails to recall when the war is over.

* * *

_From the notes of Dr. Moira O’Deorain on the Pech_

Studying these creatures has proved to be difficult. My suspicions about their origins were wrong, but this does not explain the supernatural feats attributed to them. I attempted to capture one, but the little devil broke its way out of the cage I had set for it with ease. The thing acted like the metal bars, some of the strongest I could get my hands on, were mere stalks of wheat. I could not even find a trace of its path to or away from the trap. The local Scots are unwilling to help – every day, they become more and more agitated by not just my presence but with my continued research into the Pech. Fools. Damnant quod non intelligunt.

* * *

_Gabriel Reyes’s diary_

October 21st, 1893

We arrived in the village at mid-day, with no oddities to report. There is a general unease filling the air, and aside from the conspicuous lack of people in the area, there does not appear to be much in the way of evil. Jack believes this was all a fool’s errand, and I am inclined to agree with him. However, I cannot shake the feeling of eyes watching me. It feels as if they are everywhere. I cannot so much as step into an enclosed room in a corner of a small Scottish abode without thinking someone out there is watching me. The Doctor’s notes in her book mention feeling watched. Is this the work of the fantastical creatures she outlines? Or is there something more sinister here? Only time will tell.

Jack has said that he sees small lights out in the forest. I tell him he is a fool and that his eyes are playing tricks on him. Silently, though, I wonder if they are the glistening eyes of a being – or multiple beings – that do not want us here.

* * *

_From the notes of Dr. Moira O’Deorain on the Pech_

I have found it.

The Pech do not work for themselves. Their society is too crude, too backwards, to allow for this. They have no higher station in their life other than to serve their master. Their master in this instance is a spirit the Scots call the Nuckalavee. This season is the beginning of its hunt, when it rises from the malevolent North Sea to seek out vengeance for any number of crimes. The Scots tell me through prayers and hushed voices that this being can destroy crops, kill livestock, and bring forth the Plague. This is the answer I have sought, this is what I needed to know. Now that I have obtained understanding, I can begin the ritual. Finally, my career will not have been in vain.

* * *

_Gabriel Reyes’s diary_

October 22nd, 1893

In the morning, we set out to investigate. We find small creatures, impossibly strong little monsters that run away when we shoot at them. They have torn apart nearly all other living animals in the area, and we suspect the same fate befell the villagers some time ago. Only a single horse seems to be immune, but we discover the horrible truth quickly. This horse is no ordinary thing – it is a beast with a rider that is permanently attached to it. I have seen many a sight and smell in my long career as a soldier and gunman, and yet nothing comes close to the unholy vision I had in front of me. For lack of artistic talent, I shall do my best to describe this monstrosity.

The horror had no skin. The horse was black, and so too was the rider. Yellow veins ran up and down the rider’s body, with black liquid oozing out of it. Each muscle, of which it had many, pulsed and clenched with every step. The head looked more like an elongated skull, much like that of a pig or dog. Its sharp teeth gnashed and snapped as it looked at us, a single blood-red eye staring at us with ill intent. Its arms were impossibly long, longer than should have been normal for any being for they dragged behind the beast, collecting dirt and dust all the while leaving behind the black sludge.

We wondered whether our weapons would even work against the thing.

* * *

_From the notes of Dr. Moira O’Deorain on ‘the ritual’_

The Nuckalavee is a means to an end. Each summer, the being is contained by a water spirit that keeps the waters calm enough so as not to enrage it. With its powers, however, I believe I can summon something even stronger, even deadlier. I have done much research into the occult as part of my career – much to the consternation of the Church and Queen, but I digress – and I posit that the Nuckalavee, much like the Pech, is built to serve another. The ritual I shall inscribe below requires first and foremost for the Pech and Nuckalavee to be either destroyed, or cowed into inaction. This I cannot do alone, and thus I have dispatched underlings to do my bidding.

When they finish, then and only then will I be able to get a glimpse at true power.

* * *

_Gabriel Reyes’s diary_

October 23rd, 1893

I am writing this with bloodstained and uneasy hands, so I shall apologize in advance for mistakes and unclear passages.

Jack and I successfully killed the horse beast, but it wold appear that our victory was short lived. As we reloded and checked ourselves for wounds, we were approached by a group of people. Their leader was a woman with stark white hair, a wide-brim hat, and wearing gentleman’s clothes, most unproper for a lady. Her companions were no better – a gunslinger I vaguely recall seeing posters for out West, and a massive blundering man with a small hat and even smaller, beady eyes. Each were armed to the teeth, and the woman plainly announced her intentions. They were here to kill us and take back the Doctor’s book. Obviously, we could not accept this outcome.

Most unusually, however, Doctor O’Deorain herself appeared. She had been following us, and was disappointed in both the work Jack and I had put in as well as the work of the woman and her gang. It seemed Dr. O’Deorain had hired them to kill us. The betrayal shocked me, and I hope I need not explain why.

The Doctor began speaking in tongues, and despite our initial misgivings towards one another, we all gathered our weapons to kill the Doctor before she could finish her devilish ritual. We decided to burn the book, as I found notes from the Doctor that explained she intended to summon a devil of devils, a being that would bring Apocalypse to the world. The woman and her allies left, and – for now at least – Jack and I have decided to continue traveling together.

I sincerely hope this adventure was not a peek as to my future career.


End file.
